Michael Willie

At 26 years old, I was overweight and on blood pressure and high cholesterol medication.

One day, something inside my head just clicked and I knew I needed to lose weight.

In October 2006, I weighed 361 pounds.

I'm also a firefighter and being overweight made everything a lot harder to do; both physically and mentally. Luckily, I have an amazing group of friends so I still had a social life. However, I was very shy and often held back when interacting with females because of my weight. I'm not really sure if it was one specific thing that led me to Medifast but one day, something inside my head just clicked and I knew I needed to lose weight.

Ever since I was young, I have always been the "big kid" and as time went on the bigger I got and the more un-healthy I got. My father had done Medifast once before and when my doctor recommended the program, I decided to give it a try. In just two weeks I lost over 15 pounds! I couldn't believe it. My family and friends were amazed at my progress and have been so supportive throughout my Medifast journey. Their encouragement has been a big incentive for me to stay on the plan and keep losing weight. The Medifast program was so simple and easy. I usually just stuck to Medifast shakes and bars, While I was on the diet I would do a shake in the morning, have a bar around noon, have a shake late afternoon my lean and green for dinner and another bar in the evening. My favorites were the Dutch Chocolate and Banana Creme shakes and the Smores bars.

I currently weigh 180 pounds and have lost half my size!!

I feel so much healthier, I sleep better, and I have way more energy than before I began Medifast. All of this makes my job as a firefighter a lot easier. Working out everyday really helped also. I now do 45 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. The Medifast website and tips really helped at times when I felt unmotivated.

The biggest accomplishment I have experienced since starting Medifast has been getting off of all the medications!

It's a great feeling to know that not only have I lost weight, but I have improved my health for the rest of my life! In addition, I now have four friends trying the diet after seeing my amazing success. I could not be happier, the whole Medifast experience has been life changing for myself! From the way I eat, to the way I look at food, to how much I exercise...etc.